Jon Towlson is a film critic with a deep dive into the horror genre. His work focuses on analyzing subversive elements and countercultural messages within horror films, spanning from classic works to contemporary productions. Towlson explores how horror cinema reflects and comments on society, often concentrating on themes like the rise of gruesomeness and its cinematic portrayal. His approach is analytical and insightful, offering readers a deeper comprehension of horror filmmaking.
Exploring the global landscape of horror cinema, this book delves into how filmmakers from various countries address cultural fears and anxieties through the genre. It highlights the evolution of horror over the past decade, analyzing 28 significant international films, such as It Follows and Get Out, while discussing many others. Each chapter focuses on a different nation, providing insights into the unique terrors faced by its people and examining the genre's appeal across borders.
Jon Towlson considers how Candyman might be read both as a "return of the repressed" and as an example of nineties neoconservative horror. He traces the film's origins as a Clive Barker short story; discusses the importance of its real-life Cabrini-Green setting; and analyzes its appropriation and interrogation of urban myth.
An iconic and controversial film, Midnight Cowboy is given its due as a classic of queer cinema. By shifting the perspective away from interpretations of Midnight Cowboy as homophobic, Jon Towlson argues for a new interpretation of the film as a proto-queer buddy movie and portrait of a friendship.
Arguably, excess is at the heart of Dawn of the Dead, integral to its meaning: not only in its scenes of gore, its in-your-face social satire and its gaudy pop-kitsch style but in the production history of the film itself.